- Source
- Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.18.1-2.18.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
Describes how the author's opinion on the boundaries of Egypt was supported by the oracle of Ammon, and how the oracle defined the territory of Egypt and its inhabitants.
μαρτυρέει δέ μοι τῇ γνώμῃ, ὅτι τοσαύτη ἐστὶ Αἴγυπτος ὅσην τινὰ ἐγὼ ἀποδείκνυμι τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ τὸ Ἄμμωνος χρηστήριον γενόμενον· τὸ ἐγὼ τῆς ἐμεωυτοῦ γνώμης1 ὕστερον περὶ Αἴγυπτον ἐπυθόμην.
And my opinion, that Egypt is of such an extent as I show by my argument, is also supported by the oracle of Ammon which was delivered; which oracle I myself heard of after I had already formed my own opinion concerning Egypt.
οἱ γὰρ δὴ ἐκ Μαρέης τε πόλιος καὶ Ἄπιος, οἰκέοντες Αἰγύπτου τὰ πρόσουρα Λιβύῃ, αὐτοί τε δοκέοντες εἶναι Λίβυες καὶ οὐκ Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ ἀχθόμενοι τῇ περὶ τὰ ἱρὰ θρησκηίῃ, βουλόμενοι θηλέων βοῶν μὴ ἔργεσθαι,2 ἔπεμψαν ἐς Ἄμμωνα φάμενοι οὐδὲν σφίσι τε καὶ Αἰγυπτίοισι κοινὸν εἶναι· οἰκέειν τε γὰρ ἔξω τοῦ Δέλτα καὶ οὐδὲν ὁμολογέειν αὐτοῖσι, βούλεσθαί τε πάντων σφίσι ἐξεῖναι γεύεσθαι.
For the inhabitants of the city of Marea and of Apis, who dwell in the parts of Egypt bordering on Libya, believing themselves to be Libyans and not Egyptians, and being burdened by the religious observances concerning sacred things, because they wished not to abstain from the flesh of female cows, sent to Ammon saying that they had nothing in common with the Egyptians; for they dwelt outside the Delta and agreed with them in nothing, and they wished to be allowed to taste of all foods.
ὁ δὲ θεός σφεας οὐκ ἔα3 ποιέειν ταῦτα, φὰς Αἴγυπτον εἶναι ταύτην τὴν ὁ Νεῖλος ἐπιὼν ἄρδει, καὶ Αἰγυπτίους εἶναι τούτους οἳ ἔνερθε Ἐλεφαντίνης πόλιος οἰκέοντες ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τούτου πίνουσι. οὕτω σφι ταῦτα ἐχρήσθη.
But the god did not permit them to do this, saying that Egypt was that land which the Nile overflows and irrigates, and that those were Egyptians who dwell below the city of Elephantine and drink from this river. Thus was this oracle given to them.
- 2.18.1τῆς ἐμεωυτοῦ γνώμης
Genitive of comparison depending on the comparative adverb ὕστερον ("later"), meaning "later than my own opinion" (i.e., after I had already formed my own opinion).
- 2.18.2ἔργεσθαι
Ionic spelling of εἴργεσθαι ("to abstain from"), which governs the genitive of separation θηλέων βοῶν ("female cows"). Together with the negative particle μή, it expresses their wish "not to abstain from" eating them.
- 2.18.3ἔα
Third-person singular imperfect of the verb ἐάω ("to permit"). It lacks the past augment as is typical in the Ionic dialect (corresponding to Attic εἴα), meaning "did not permit" when combined with οὐκ.